YouTube typically pays creators about $1 to $10 per 1,000 long-form views, measured as RPM (revenue per mille). Many general channels land around $2 to $5, while finance, business, software and education niches can exceed $10 to $20 per 1,000 views.
RPM is what you actually earn after YouTube's 45% share of ad revenue, and it includes all monetized revenue sources divided by total views, including views without ads. It varies by audience country, niche, time of year and video length, since videos over eight minutes can carry mid-roll ads. Q4 often pays more as advertisers spend heavily before the holidays. Check your own RPM in YouTube Studio → Analytics → Revenue to calculate real earnings.
Step-by-step plan
Open YouTube Studio → Analytics → Revenue to find your RPM.
Multiply RPM by views ÷ 1,000 to estimate earnings.
Target topics advertisers value, like finance or software.
Make videos over eight minutes to enable mid-roll ads.
Track seasonal RPM changes, especially in Q4.
Why this works
YouTube pays from ad revenue, so earnings depend on RPM: what you keep per 1,000 views after YouTube's share. Long-form creators keep 55% of ad revenue and commonly see RPMs between about $1 and $10, with finance, software and business niches above that. Shorts share a pooled revenue model at 45% and usually earn a few cents per 1,000 views. Audience country, season, video length and how many views are monetized all move the number.
Common mistake to avoid
Confusing CPM with RPM. CPM is what advertisers pay before YouTube's share; RPM is what you actually keep.
Pro tip
Look at RPM per video, not just the channel average. Topics with the highest RPM tell you what advertisers value most in your audience, which is a strong signal for what to make more of.
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